Simulink model does not generate any output voltage from TI card

Hello,

A colleague and I are working with this Simulink model:

https://se.mathworks.com/help/mcb/gs/run-three-phase-AC-motors-open-loop-control-calibrate-adc-offset.html

together with the hardware TI C2000 LAUNCHXL-F28379D and a TI BOOSTXL-3PhGaNInv card, in order to run a PMSM connected to the boost card.

We're having some problems however, we are following all the steps in the description and have no errors running the model, during the simulation everything looks fine - but when we try "Build, deploy and start" we are not getting any kind of output from the inverter.

We have current and voltage sensors hooked up between the power supply and BOOSTXL card, so we can see that power is going in to the card. The communication between the computer and the Launchpad also appears to be working, since we can run a different program to make the diodes on the LAUNCHXL-card blink.

Any ideas what could be the problem, or where we should start looking would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

[Divyank]

Hello @Daniel, there could be several reasons why the inverter is not providing any output despite successful simulation and connection between the components. Here are some possible areas you can investigate:

• Hardware Connection: Verify that all the hardware connections are properly made and there are no loose connections. Double-check the pin assignments and wiring connections for the Launchpad and the BOOSTXL card. Make sure that the power supply voltage levels are within the required range.
• Motor Parameters: Check if the motor parameters in the model match the physical motor that is being used. Ensure that the motor parameters such as resistance, inductance, and back-EMF constant are correctly entered in the model.
• ADC Calibration: Verify that the ADCs on the LAUNCHXL-F28379D board are calibrated correctly. Improper ADC calibration can result in incorrect readings from the sensors.
• Software Configuration: Verify that the software configuration on the LAUNCHXL-F28379D board is correct. Ensure that the correct firmware is loaded on the board and the software settings are properly configured. Check if the communication protocol between the board and the computer is set correctly.
• Debugging: Use debugging tools such as breakpoints, scope blocks to monitor the variables and signals in the model. This will help you identify the problem areas and trace the source of the issue.

[Daniel]

Hi @Divyank,

Thanks a lot for the suggestions!

Regarding the hardware connections, it's a bit unclear how the BOOSTXL card and Launchpad should be connected. The documentation from Mathworks and from Texas instruments actually say two different things, but we have tried both and it doesn't seem to work either way.

The motor parameters should be in order, however I'm not sure if this would be needed to be able to produce any voltage at all from the BOOSTXL card?

Regarding the ADC calibration, we are trying to run the motor in an open loop configuration, would this still be required?

About the software and firmware on the LAUNCHXL-card, how can this be verified? We have tried using TI CCS with limited success but can this be done through Simulink somehow?

Thanks for the suggestion of debugging. The Simulink script compiles with no errors and everything appears to be running normally on the computer, but no voltage is generated from the ports on the BOOSTXL-card.

Thanks again for any help you'd be able to provide!

[Daniel]

Hello again,

We did some more hardware debugging and we found that the LAUNCHXL card does indeed generate three PWM signals, see attachment for the oscilloscope and test setup. However, as you can see, the PWM signals are syncronized with each other and we suspect that this therefore generates some sort of error in the BOOSTXL card which prevents it from supplying the motor with current. We tried changing some settings in Matlab to get offsets between the PWM signals but so far to no avail. Does anyone know what could be the problem here, any setting we should check?

Thanks!